Things Fall Apart

Okonkwo’s Attempt at Perfection

“To suffering there is a limit; to fearing, none” is a great quote by Francis Bacon, the Renaissance writer. He reveals how important fear is, saying that fear is one of the only emotions that can keep intensifying over time. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is an example of what can happen to a man who allows fear to control his life. It is stated clearly in the novel that Okonkwo is paralyzed by his fears. “His whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness” (Achebe 13). However, the fact that Okonkwo fears anything at all actually contrasts everything he tries to be. He behaves impatiently and is quick to use violence to solve any problem. He never lets anyone know he is afraid, the only emotion expressed openly by Okonkwo is anger. Okonkwo attempts to be the opposite of a coward, but his frequent eccentric outbursts demonstrate that he is actually very afraid, and what leads to his eventual downfall is that very fear of weakness and failure.

Okonkwo feels he has to make up for his father’s lack of success by showing people that he is triple the man Unoka was. “Whenever the thought of his father’s weakness and failure troubled him he expelled it by thinking about his own strength and success” (66). Okonkwo is known as a warrior. By his own word, he is also a man who can stand the sight of blood and has been seen proudly drinking wine out of a decapitated head in public. He has attained a high position in his society thanks to his persistent work ethic, and has an impressive homestead and a large family to boast. Okonkwo makes sure that others know about his success. He is impatient and will cut down anyone inferior to him, just to make sure people know he is superior. He tells a man who contradicts something he says at a tribal meeting, “This meeting is for men,” dismissing his comment simply because the man had not taken any titles.

However, Okonkwo does have some very strange mannerisms, which are definitely not characteristic of a healthy, well-balanced, upright man. Okonkwo seeks to repress virtually every emotion, except anger. This is evident in the contrast between Okonkwo and his friend, Obierka. Okonkwo challenges his best friend’s manhood because he did not come along to kill the boy Ikemefuna. Obierka says back to Okonkwo, “If I were you I would have stayed at home (and not killed the boy.) What you have done will not please the Earth. It is the kind of action the goddess wipes out whole families for” (67). Even though Okonkwo feels terrible about Ikemefuna’s death, staying awake during the night, drinking alone, he keeps this feeling a secret. Obierka is not afraid to admit that he had reservations about killing the young boy, while Okonkwo is so terrified to admit this fact that he covers it up by attacking his friend’s manliness. He is incapable of showing affection to his wives or children, instead he physically attacks them and yells at them. He believes his son Nwoye might end up like Unoka if he is treated kindly. Also, Okonkwo does not enjoy himself at feasts or big social gatherings. Since Okonkwo is a workaholic, he is afraid of not working. He is afraid of the idleness that exists during an event where people are supposed to relax. A major example of Okonkwo’s erratic behavior is his decision to participate in the murder of Ikemefuna. He chooses to do this, despite the fact that the most respected elder in his clan commanded Okonkwo not to bear a hand in the boy’s death. Not to mention the fact that the young boy had lived under his roof for the past three years. Ikemefuna runs towards Okonkwo, so he can be protected from the men who are swinging machetes in his direction. He yells, “My Father, they have killed me!” And because Okonkwo is so overcome with the fear of being seen as weak, he kills the boy. This is definitely what separates Okonkwo from most other men. Although he may feel the same range of emotions as the rest of humanity, Okonkwo has quite successfully taught himself to repress feelings of empathy or regret. Finally, when Okonkwo was a young man, his farm somehow survived the worst growing season in the tribe’s memory. Instead of believing he was simply lucky that year, Okonkwo decided he was the reason the farm survived. He chalked it up to his own “inflexible will”. Okonkwo creates a reason to explain why he did not fail, and of course that reason is himself. Okonkwo’s fear of failure and being weak is so strong,